These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: Purim

[Alumni Guest Post] Purim Rap: A Jewish Thrift Shop Parody (Purim Song)

Posted on February 21, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Matt Rissien (Year ’08) shares his new Purim RAP:

Why Fast for Ta’anit Esther?

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Annie Matan Gilbert

This fast comes in contrast with the feasting of Purim to come. In the Purim story, Esther asked Mordechai to ask the Jews to fast for three days. Some texts say this is because they were preparing for battle and others say this was to invoke God’s help and protection. There are two Hebrew words Continue Reading »

Purim is Coming…

Posted on February 11, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Here are two videos made for last year’s Pardes Purim Shpiel. As you can see, the bar has been set pretty high. Can this years class top this? We’ll soon find out…

[Alumni Guest Post] Sara Brandes – A Purim D’var Torah (a spoken word piece)

Posted on February 11, 2013 by The Director of Digital Media

Rosh Chodesh Adar is almost over, but Purim is coming soon! A Provocative Purim Poem by Sara Brandes (Year ’01, Fellows ’02, Elul ’05) ENJOY! Rabbi Sara Brandes lives in Los Angeles, CA, with her husband Hyim, and two children, Michal (5) and Gavi (2). She is West Coast Regional Director at Moving Traditions, and Continue Reading »

Shofar and God’s Love of Israel

Posted on September 10, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

by Rabbi Alex Israel Cross-posted from his blog Thinking Israel On the one hand, the cycle of the Jewish year is predictable and familiar: The solemnity of Yom Kippur, the smells and feel of the Sukka and the 4 species, the warmth and intimacy of Hannuka, Purim’s raucous frivolity, the tunes and tastes of Seder Continue Reading »

Alumni Spotlight: Jen Taylor Friedman

Posted on June 17, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

As some of you may know, Th&Th loves Pardes alumni blogs! And when we find them, we like linking to them from the side menu of our blog… and sometimes we even get nosy enough to interview our alumni, and spotlight them here in a Th&Th blog post. So it turns out that the soferet Continue Reading »

Ta Shma!

Posted on April 17, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Awesome music video made by Sam Rotenberg & Andrew Lustig – they played this for the community during the Pardes Purim spiel this year! Check it out!

Topsy-Turvy

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart

This was originally posted on my blog: What is there to say about the Jewish holiday of Purim? Purim is a joyful, happy, and silly holiday which recounts the saving of the Jews from an impending massacre in the Persian period. In the story of Purim, we see a turnaround of fate, a reversal in Continue Reading »

Bible Raps at Pardes

Posted on April 8, 2012 by The Director of Digital Media

Before Purim, alum Matt Bar (Year ’07-’08, Fellow ’08-’09) of BIBLE RAPS fame visited us at Pardes (and he stayed for the Purim spiel)! We videotaped him rapping for us during community lunch: We also got to talk with him about why he tries to visit Pardes regularly, and got him to share some thoughts Continue Reading »

Purim Spiel Video: Halakhic Justice 4U!

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Adrienne Silver

No books (sforim) were harmed in the making of this Pardes Purim spiel video: